The hills are barren, dry and dusty. There, only the bare stumps remained, blackened after the firestorm swept through.
There is no life left in this land!

The herds no longer have enough food. The farmers are in a dilemma when they can’t keep farming, but no one will buy them.

Along the winding road in the small village of Modrici, there is a house on the hill, close to the lake. Nearby is an old warehouse and makeshift toilet. On the opposite side is a signboard with large, clear words:
“DANGER! There are ERW!”

That small house used to be home to three generations in a family. But then, like the surrounding trees, it burned too, no one could recognize it. In front of the house, there is still the Croatian flag – the only sign that this house was once the residence of an important person.

This “important person” is Luka Modric. Or more accurately, it was Luka Modric “nephew”.

The village of Jasenice – which separates Modrici and the nearby hill – was occupied by Serbian troops in September 1991, during Croatia’s war of independence.

“On the morning of December 18, 1991, at about 9:00 a.m., a group of Chetniks surrounded the road leading to Velebit.”

“While traveling down this road, they sang songs that were full of violence and politics.”

“At that moment, the Chetniks encountered a farmer grazing in this place where dogs eat stones and chickens eat gravel. It was Luka Modric – a man from the village of Zaton Obrovacki.”

“The Chetniks immediately stopped the car. ‘Who are you? What are you doing here? This is Serbian land,’ they growled.”

“Before the farmer had time to leave, the whole Velebit mountain heard the sound of gunfire.”

“Luka Modric has fallen…”

“After killing Luka Modric, the villains continued to head towards Meke Doce with bloody hands.”

Luka Modric Sr. is the grandfather of midfielder Luka Modric – who is playing for Real Madrid club. The lines above were reported by Zadarski List reporter Ivica Marijacic in an April 1995 article.

The self-proclaimed “militia” of the “Autonomous Region of Serbia” killed six more civilians that day.

They even bragged about this when they returned to the station. In the disclosure from the file of the International Court of Justice, the Serbian government actually knew the matter but deliberately ignored it and did not investigate.

To this day, the man who shot Mr. Luka Modric and his accomplices has never stood in the dock. They escaped and defected to different countries.

Luka Modric “grandson” at that time was only 6 years old. The peaceful life of the boy’s family ended from this moment. They become refugees, leave and never come back. The old small house was burned down and surrounded by bombs and mines, there was nothing left to hold on to.

In the following years, Luka Modric lived in refugee camps around the city of Zadar. So when he received his first salary in his career, he spent it all to buy a house for his parents.

If you kick the ball on the hill outside the house Modric spawned, the ball will roll from there to the path below. So when someone asks, “Where did the best player in the world play?” then the answer is definitely not around the old house…

…which is the city of Zadar.

Today, Kolovare is a 4-star hotel with all modern amenities. But during Croatia’s war of independence, it was a refugee camp – home to thousands of families who had lost their homes.

The Modrics have lived in Kolovare for seven years. They were also the last to say goodbye to this place.

Camp Kolovare has a fairly large parking lot. This is where the boy Luka Modric practiced his football skills day and night. The boy was so drunk that he was repeatedly asked by his teacher to return to class to study. However, the answer that the teacher received was also: “In a moment, Miss!”

The boy Modric that day was not bored with any gymnastics in class. He often played basketball with his familiar partner, who later became Croatia’s goalkeeper – Danijel Subasic. And like his best friend, Modric is also very good at playing in the goalie position, but that is… handball.

When Modric’s gym teacher watched the boy handle the ball in his feet, he was mesmerized. To challenge his favorite student, he often let him compete with older opponents or arranged in the goalkeeper position. However, Modric is always the winner.

Students in the school do not always have access to the gym. Zadar is still a war zone, and bombs and bullets fall as usual. Luka and his classmates always have to wait under the desk drawer after each siren.

Playing football also encounters a similar scenario. Many training sessions had to be stopped because of the howling whistle. Then, all are immersed with the round ball when the danger is over.

When Luka was in third grade, when he was assigned an essay with the theme: “One thing that affects